This article refers to the religious usage of the term. For other usages, see Second Coming (disambiguation).

The prophecies of a Second Coming are various and span across many religions and cultures. Most notable is the Christian belief in the return of Jesus.

The belief is closely tied to a belief in God, and a belief in prophets, sometimes called Messengers or Manifestations, who have some level of divinity or closeness to God. Almost every religious tradition has some form of prophecy of a return of one of these figures, or the coming of a new figure.

Christianity

The vast majority of those self-identified as Christians look forward to the second coming or second advent of Jesus Christ. Across the many Christian denominations, the details of Christ's second coming are somewhat diverse. Few dare to claim complete and authoritative interpretation of the typically symbolic and prophetic biblical sources. What is commonly accepted is that:

1. Jesus Christ died on the cross.
2. He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven.
3. He is to return to judge the world and to establish the Kingdom of God,
4. No one knows the day or hour of Christ's return.

(Mark 13:32): But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father (Padre/Papae)Some critics of Christianity have interpreted (Matt 24:34, Luke 21:32) to imply that Jesus would return before the death of those to whom he was talking.

The Book of Daniel, the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Revelation are considered to be the most fruitful sources of study, although many parts of the Bible are sprinkled with references to the "last day(s)" and the Second Coming of Christ. A short reference to it is also contained in the Nicene Creed: "He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there shall be no end" (speaking of "one Lord Jesus Christ").

Pastor William Miller and the Millerite Movement expected the second coming on October 22, 1844. The fact that this failed to happen was later referred to as the Great Disappointment. Some of his followers went on to create the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The followers of Reverend Sun Myung Moon consider Rev. Moon to be the Lord of the Second Advent called by Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday at the age of 16 on a Korean Mountainside.

Renowned psychic Edgar Cayce, who is known to have accurately predicted many events, noted that the Second Coming of Christ would be in 1998. Though 1998 has already passed, many of Cayce's followers maintain that Christ was simply conceived in 1998 and thus would only be seven or eight years old presently.

Similarly, Nostradamus predicted that Christ would return to Earth in 1999. When this didn't occur, his followers and those of Edgar Cayce claimed that Jesus was conceived in 1998, born in 1999, and is currently living on Earth as a reincarnated person.

Hinduism

In Hindu belief an incarnation or manifestation of Divinity (especially Lord Vishnu) is called an 'avatar'. The doctrine of avatars first

The Vishnu Purana mentions the following on the Kalki Avatar:

• When the practices taught by the Vedas and the institutes of law,
  Shall nearly have ceased,
  and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh,
  A portion of that Divine Being who exists of his own spiritual nature,
  In the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end,
  And who comprehends all things shall descend upon the earth.
  He will be born as Kalki in the family of an eminent brahmin,
  Of Sambhala village, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties.
  By his irresistible might, He will destroy all the barbarians and thieves,
  And all whose minds are devoted to iniquity.
  He will then reestablish righteousness upon earth;
  And the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age, shall be awakened,
  and shall be as pellucid as crystal.
  The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time,
  Shall be as the seeds of human beings,
  And shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita Age, the Age of Purity.

Vishnu Purana 4.24

Islam

• Mainstream view: The mainstream Islamic view of the second coming maintains that Jesus was being replaced by a duplicate who looked like Jesus, and that it is the duplicate who was crucified and the real Jesus was lifted up to Heaven by God, where he is waiting to descend during the “last days” when corruption and perversity are rife on Earth. He will then wage a battle against the the false Jesus or anti-christ (Dajjal), break the cross, kill swine and call all humanity to Islam.

• Minority views: Some minority sects have adopted different and allegedly heretical beliefs according to mainstream Muslims. The view of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is based on an allegorical interpretation of the references to Jesus’s second coming in Islamic literature. They believe that Jesus died a natural death and the "second coming" referred to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and his efforts to counter the threats to Islam from other religious groups.

Bahá'í Faith

Followers of the Bahá'í Faith believe that the second coming of Jesus, as well as the prophecies of the 5th Buddha and many other religious prophecies of a second coming, were fulfilled in Bahá'u'lláh. They commonly compare Bahá'u'lláh's fulfillment of Christian prophecies to Jesus' fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, where in both cases people were expecting the literal fulfillment of apocalyptic statements.

Given the natural debate that arises from the claims

When asked, Jesus told his followers about signs of his second coming.

1. "And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness ... then shall the end come." (Matthew 24: 14)
2. "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.. And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21: 24,27)
3. "The disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming? "...When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)." (Matthew 24: 3,15)

1) The early part of the nineteenth century saw the foundation of missionary societies which translated the Bible into many languages and began a huge operation to spread the news of Jesus into every remaining country. In 1842 missionaries reached China, and organised efforts to proclaim the Gospel in Central Africa began in 1844.

2) The Jewish revolt against Roman rule ended in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem fell to the Roman armies, and the Temple was destroyed. This was the start of the abomination of desolation, in which the Temple was "trodden down by the Gentiles". The Jews were expelled from Palestine, and this situation lasted up until A.D. 1844. In that year, the Turkish Empire proclaimed the Edict of Toleration, which allowed the Jews to live in their original homeland.

3) This refers to chapters 8 to 12 of the Book of Daniel where prophecies can be found which appear to give the dates for the first and second coming of Christ. Biblical scholars believe that every "day" referred to in these texts should be understood as meaning a year. One point of reference given by Daniel concerns the rebuilding of Jerusalem, long before the Romans again destroyed it. From 457 B.C., when the decree to rebuild Jerusalem went out, Daniel prophesies 70 weeks (490 days) until the "cutting off" (crucifixion) of the Messiah. The exact birth date of Jesus is unknown, but it is believed that he was crucified in about 33 A.D., which would be 490 years after the decree.

Daniel also prophesies 2300 "days" until the sanctuary is cleansed, and the abomination of desolation - the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem - is ended. From 457 B.C., this arrives at A.D. 1844.

All these prophecies point to the year 1844, which is the year that the Báb first declared his mission, regarded to Bahá'í as the year that their religion began.

In the vision which contained these prophecies, Daniel saw himself as being in the land of Elam, later called Persia. The prophet Jeremiah also states: "And I will set my throne in Elam (Persia) .. saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 49:38). Bahá'u'lláh came from Persia, and was exiled Westward towards Palestine.

Judaism

Judaism is awaiting more of a "first coming" than a "second coming." They are awaiting the coming of their Messiah. This Messiah will then usher in the millennium that Isaiah and other prophets describe.

New Church / Swedenborgianism

Emanuel Swedenborg and those in the New Church believe Jesus has already made his second advent through the ideas revealed in Swedenborg's theological works. They believe that the Last Judgement was completed in the spiritual world on June 19, 1770 (See Swedenborg's ).

New Age / Maitreya

According to Benjamin Creme the second coming has already ocurred with the return of Maitreya. This Maitreya has already returned and is living incognito in London waiting for the right moment to appear openly before the world. He is not only the Maitreya expected by the Buddhists, but also the Christ expected by Christians.

Rastafari

The Rastafari movement believes Haile Selassie is the second coming. He both embodied this when he became Emperor of Ethiopia, but is also expected to return a second time to initiate the apocalyptic day of judgement. Haile Selassie, also called Jah rastafari, is considered to be still alive.

Esoteric Christian tradition

In the western esoteric tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian, there is a distinction to be made between Jesus and the Christ . Jesus is considered an high Initiate of the human life wave (which evolves under the cicle of rebirth) and of a singularly pure type of mind, vastly superior to the great majority of the present humanity. He was educated during his youth among the Essenes and thus prepared himself for the greatest honor ever bestowed upon a human being: to deliver his pure, passionless, highly evolved physical body and vital body (already attuned to the high vibrations of the 'life spirit'), in the moment of the Baptism, to the Christ being for His ministry in the physical world. Christ is described as the highest Spiritual Being of the life wave called Archangels and has completed His union ("the Son") with the second aspect of God.

In the esoteric Christian tradition, there is a clear distinction between the Cosmic Christ, or Christ without, and the Christ Within: the Cosmic Christ aids each individual in the formation of the Christ Within (also called soul body, the correct translation of Paul of Tarsus "soma psuchicon", or also the Golden Wedding Garment (Matthew 22:2,11)), however the emphasis is that the work needed to form the Christ Within is the responsability of each individual. The Christ Within is regarded as the true Saviour who needs to be born within each individual in order to evolve toward the future Sixth Epoch inf the Earth's etheric plane, that is, the New Galilee: "new heavens and a new earth". According to this tradition , the Second Coming or Advent of the Christ is not in a physical body but in the new soul body of each individual in the etheric region of the planet where man "shall be caught up IN THE CLOUDS to meet the Lord IN THE AIR" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The Day when this event shall be, as described in the Bible, is not in the human knowledge domain. The esoteric Christian tradition teaches that first there will be a preparatory period as the Sun enters Aquarius by precession: the coming Age of Aquarius.

Reference literature

1.  , Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (Part III, Chapter XV: ), November 1909, ISBN 0-911274-34-0
2.  , Max Heindel, How Shall We Know Christ at His Coming?, May 1913 (stenographic report of a lecture, Los Angeles), ISBN 0-911274-64-2

See also

• Mahdi
• Messiah
• List of messiah claimants
• Parousia
• Millennialism
• King in the mountain
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences הביאה השנייה

wederkomst